The Structure of Biological Theories

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Publisher : SUNY Press
ISBN 13 : 9780887069338
Total Pages : 162 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (693 download)

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Book Synopsis The Structure of Biological Theories by : Paul Thompson

Download or read book The Structure of Biological Theories written by Paul Thompson and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 1989-01-01 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The central thesis of this book is that the semantic conception is a logical methodologically and heuristically richer and more accurate account of scientific theorizing, and in particular of theorizing in evolutionary biology, than the more widely adhered to syntactic conception. In this book, the author outlines both the conceptions indicating the significant problems with the syntactic conception; explains and criticizes two influential syntactic-conception accounts of the structure of evolutionary theorizing. Thompson also argues that the semantic conception provides a richer and more accurate understanding than the syntactic conception of sociobiological explanation, of the testability of sociobiology, and of the role of culture and cognition in evolutionary explanations of human behavior.

The Structure of Evolutionary Theory

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Publisher : Harvard University Press
ISBN 13 : 0674417925
Total Pages : 1460 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (744 download)

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Book Synopsis The Structure of Evolutionary Theory by : Stephen Jay Gould

Download or read book The Structure of Evolutionary Theory written by Stephen Jay Gould and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2002-03-21 with total page 1460 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The world’s most revered and eloquent interpreter of evolutionary ideas offers here a work of explanatory force unprecedented in our time—a landmark publication, both for its historical sweep and for its scientific vision. With characteristic attention to detail, Stephen Jay Gould first describes the content and discusses the history and origins of the three core commitments of classical Darwinism: that natural selection works on organisms, not genes or species; that it is almost exclusively the mechanism of adaptive evolutionary change; and that these changes are incremental, not drastic. Next, he examines the three critiques that currently challenge this classic Darwinian edifice: that selection operates on multiple levels, from the gene to the group; that evolution proceeds by a variety of mechanisms, not just natural selection; and that causes operating at broader scales, including catastrophes, have figured prominently in the course of evolution. Then, in a stunning tour de force that will likely stimulate discussion and debate for decades, Gould proposes his own system for integrating these classical commitments and contemporary critiques into a new structure of evolutionary thought. In 2001 the Library of Congress named Stephen Jay Gould one of America’s eighty-three Living Legends—people who embody the “quintessentially American ideal of individual creativity, conviction, dedication, and exuberance.” Each of these qualities finds full expression in this peerless work, the likes of which the scientific world has not seen—and may not see again—for well over a century.

The History of Biological Theories

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 428 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis The History of Biological Theories by : Emanuel Rádl

Download or read book The History of Biological Theories written by Emanuel Rádl and published by . This book was released on 1930 with total page 428 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

The Structure of Biological Science

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Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780521275613
Total Pages : 300 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (756 download)

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Book Synopsis The Structure of Biological Science by : Alexander Rosenberg

Download or read book The Structure of Biological Science written by Alexander Rosenberg and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1985-01-25 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Preface p. ix Chapter 1 Biology and Its Philosophy p. 2 1.1 The Rise of Logical Positivism p. 2 1.2 The Consequences for Philosophy p. 4 1.3 Problems of Falsifiability p. 6 1.4 Philosophy of Science Without Positivism p. 8 1.5 Speculation and Science p. 10 Introduction to the Literature p. 11 Chapter 2 Autonomy and Provincialism p. 13 2.1 Philosophical Agendas versus Biological Agendas p. 13 2.2 Motives for Provincialism and Autonomy p. 18 2.3 Biological Philosophies p. 21 2.4 Tertium Datur? p. 25 2.5 The Issues in Dispute p. 30 2.6 Steps in the Argument p. 34 Introduction to the Literature p. 35 Chapter 3 Teleology and the Roots of Autonomy p. 37 3.1 Functional Explanations in Molecular Biology p. 39 3.2 The Search for Functions p. 43 3.3 Functional Laws p. 47 3.4 Directively Organized Systems p. 52 3.5 The Autonomy of Teleological Laws p. 59 3.6 The Metaphysics and Epistemology of Functional Explanation p. 62 3.7 Functional Explanation Will Always Be with Us p. 65 Introduction to the Literature p. 67 Chapter 4 Reductionism and the Temptation of Provincialism p. 69 4.1 Motives for Reductionism p. 69 4.2 A Triumph of Reductionism p. 73 4.3 Reductionism and Recombinant DNA p. 84 4.4 Antireductionism and Molecular Genetics p. 88 4.5 Mendel's Genes and Benzer's Cistrons p. 93 4.6 Reduction Obstructed p. 97 4.7 Qualifying Reductionism p. 106 4.8 The Supervenience of Mendelian Genetics p. 11 4.9 Levels of Organization p. 117 Introduction to the Literature p. 119 Chapter 5 The Structure of Evolutionary Theory p. 121 5.1 Is There an Evolutionary Theory? p. 122 5.2 The Charge of Tautology p. 126 5.3 Population Genetics and Evolution p. 130 5.4 Williams's Axiomatization of Evolutionary Theory p. 136 5.5 Adequacy of the Axiomatization p. 144 Introduction to the Literature p. 152 Chapter 6 Fitness p. 154 6.1 Fitness Is Measured by Its Effects p. 154 6.2 Fitness As a Statistical Propensity p. 160 6.3 The Supervenience of Fitness p. 164 6.4 The Evidence for Evolution p. 169 6.5 The Scientific Context of Evolutionary Theory p. 174 Introduction to the Literature p. 179 Chapter 7 Species p. 180 7.1 Operationalism and Theory in Taxonomy p. 182 7.2 Essentialism--For and Against p. 187 7.3 The Biological Species Notion p. 191 7.4 Evolutionary and Ecological Species p. 197 7.5 Species Are Not Natural Kinds p. 201 7.6 Species As Individuals p. 204 7.7 The Theoretical Hierarchy of Biology p. 212 7.8 The Statistical Character of Evolutionary Theory p. 216 7.9 Universal Theories and Case Studies p. 219 Introduction to the Literature p. 225 Chapter 8 New Problems of Functionalism p. 226 8.1 Functionalism in Molecular Biology p. 228 8.2 The Panglossian Paradigm p. 235 8.3 Aptations, Exaptations, and Adaptations p. 243 8.4 Information and Action Among the Macromolecules p. 246 8.5 Metaphors and Molecules p. 255 Bibliography p. 266 Index p. 273.

Structure and Modeling in Biological Theories of Embryological Pattern Formation, 1968-1986

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 572 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (237 download)

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Book Synopsis Structure and Modeling in Biological Theories of Embryological Pattern Formation, 1968-1986 by : Lee L. Zwanziger

Download or read book Structure and Modeling in Biological Theories of Embryological Pattern Formation, 1968-1986 written by Lee L. Zwanziger and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 572 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Evolutionary Biology

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Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1107027012
Total Pages : 257 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (7 download)

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Book Synopsis Evolutionary Biology by : R. Paul Thompson

Download or read book Evolutionary Biology written by R. Paul Thompson and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2014-03-13 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume explores the philosophical and biological richness of twenty-first-century evolution: its concepts, methods, structure and religious implications.

Health, Illness, and Optimal Aging

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Publisher : SAGE
ISBN 13 : 9780761922599
Total Pages : 446 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (225 download)

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Book Synopsis Health, Illness, and Optimal Aging by : Carolyn M. Aldwin

Download or read book Health, Illness, and Optimal Aging written by Carolyn M. Aldwin and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2004 with total page 446 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The authors undertake the difficult task of assembling an objective and holistic picture of human aging, including the physical aspects of aging, chronic disease and health promotion in the later years, for students and professionals.

The Emperor's New Clothes

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Publisher : Rutgers University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780813533025
Total Pages : 278 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (33 download)

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Book Synopsis The Emperor's New Clothes by : Joseph L. Graves

Download or read book The Emperor's New Clothes written by Joseph L. Graves and published by Rutgers University Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Graves' answers could revise the ways in which humans interact with one another."--"Choice." "A fine start for thinking about race at the dawn of the millennium."--"American Scientist."

Systems Biology

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Publisher : Elsevier
ISBN 13 : 0080475272
Total Pages : 361 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (84 download)

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Book Synopsis Systems Biology by : Fred Boogerd

Download or read book Systems Biology written by Fred Boogerd and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2007-03-20 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Systems biology is a vigorous and expanding discipline, in many ways a successor to genomics and perhaps unprecedented in its combination of biology with a great many other sciences, from physics to ecology, from mathematics to medicine, and from philosophy to chemistry. Studying the philosophical foundations of systems biology may resolve a longer standing issue, i.e., the extent to which Biology is entitled to its own scientific foundations rather than being dominated by existing philosophies. * Answers the question of what distinguishes the living from the non-living* An in-depth look to a vigorous and expanding discipline, from molecule to system* Explores the region between individual components and the system

Empiricism and Darwin’s Science

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Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 9401137560
Total Pages : 375 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (11 download)

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Book Synopsis Empiricism and Darwin’s Science by : F. Wilson

Download or read book Empiricism and Darwin’s Science written by F. Wilson and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 375 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I would like to record my thanks to Paul Thompson for useful conver sations over the years, and also to several generations of students who have helped me develop my ideas on biological theory and on Darwin. My wife has, as usual, been more than helpful; in particular she typed a good portion of the manuscript while I was on leave a few years ago, more now than I like to remember. My parents were both looking forward to holding a final copy of this book. I only regret that my mother did not live long enough to see its completion. I must also thank the publishers and their staff. They have been re markably patient about meeting deadlines - promises were repeatedly made and then, owing to family situations, had to be broken - and for this I am considerably in their debt. I would further like to thank the following authors and publishers for permission to use their work: R. C. Lewontin, The Genetic Basis of Evolutionary Change, Figure 1, p. 14; © 1964 Columbia University Press; reprinted here by kind permission of the author and publisher. F. Wilson, 'Goudge's Contribution to the Philosophy of Science', in L. W. Sumner, J. G. Slater, and F. Wilson (eds.), Pragmatism and Purpose: Essays in Honour of T. A. Goudge; © 1964 University of Toronto Press; reproduced here in part by kind permission of all the editors and the publisher.

Probabilities, Laws, and Structures

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Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 9400730306
Total Pages : 505 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (7 download)

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Book Synopsis Probabilities, Laws, and Structures by : Dennis Dieks

Download or read book Probabilities, Laws, and Structures written by Dennis Dieks and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-02-02 with total page 505 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume, the third in this Springer series, contains selected papers from the four workshops organized by the ESF Research Networking Programme "The Philosophy of Science in a European Perspective" (PSE) in 2010: Pluralism in the Foundations of Statistics Points of Contact between the Philosophy of Physics and the Philosophy of Biology The Debate on Mathematical Modeling in the Social Sciences Historical Debates about Logic, Probability and Statistics The volume is accordingly divided in four sections, each of them containing papers coming from the workshop focussing on one of these themes. While the programme's core topic for the year 2010 was probability and statistics, the organizers of the workshops embraced the opportunity of building bridges to more or less closely connected issues in general philosophy of science, philosophy of physics and philosophy of the special sciences. However, papers that analyze the concept of probability for various philosophical purposes are clearly a major theme in this volume, as it was in the previous volumes of the same series. This reflects the impressive productivity of probabilistic approaches in the philosophy of science, which form an important part of what has become known as formal epistemology - although, of course, there are non-probabilistic approaches in formal epistemology as well. It is probably fair to say that Europe has been particularly strong in this area of philosophy in recent years.​

The Biology and History of Molecular Biology: New Perspectives

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Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 9781402002496
Total Pages : 276 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (24 download)

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Book Synopsis The Biology and History of Molecular Biology: New Perspectives by : Sahotra Sarkar

Download or read book The Biology and History of Molecular Biology: New Perspectives written by Sahotra Sarkar and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 1996-09-30 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a collection of papers which reflect the recent trends in the philosophy and history of molecular biology. It brings together historians, philosophers, and molecular biologists who reflect on the discipline's emergence in the 1950's, its explosive growth, and the directions in which it is going. Questions addressed include: (i) what are the limits of molecular biology? (ii) What is the relation of molecular biology to older subdisciplines of biology, especially biochemistry? (iii) Are there theories in molecular biology? (iv) If so, how are these theories structured? (v) What role did information theory play in the rise of molecular biology? The book will open the way for many future researchers.

What the Philosophy of Biology Is

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Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 9400911696
Total Pages : 337 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (9 download)

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Book Synopsis What the Philosophy of Biology Is by : M. Ruse

Download or read book What the Philosophy of Biology Is written by M. Ruse and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Philosophers of science frequently bemoan (or cheer) the fact that today, with the supposed collapse of logical empiricism, there are now ;;10 grand systems. However, although this mayor may not be true, and if true mayor may not be a cause for delight, no one should conclude that the philosophy of science has ground to a halt, its problems exhausted and its practioners dispirited. In fact, in this post Kuhnian age the subject has never been more alive, as we work with enthusiasm on special topics, historical and conceptual. And no topic has grown and thrived quite like the philosophy of biology, which now has many students in the field producing high-quality articles and monographs. The success of this subject is due above all to the work and influence of one man: David Hull. In his own writings and in the support he has given to others, he has shown true leadership, in the best Platonic sense. It is now twenty years since Hull fnt gave his seminal paper 'What the philosophy of biology is not', and to mark that point and to show our respect, gratitude and affection to its author, a number of us who owe much to Hull decided to produce a volume of essays on and around themes to which Hull has spoken.

Sociobiology, Sex, and Science

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Publisher : State University of New York Press
ISBN 13 : 1438406940
Total Pages : 478 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (384 download)

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Book Synopsis Sociobiology, Sex, and Science by : Harmon R. Holcomb III

Download or read book Sociobiology, Sex, and Science written by Harmon R. Holcomb III and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 1993-01-07 with total page 478 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines sociobiology's validity and significance, using the sociobiological theory of the evolution of mating and parenting as an example. It identifies and discusses the array of factors that determine sociobiology's effort to become a science, providing a rare, balanced account—more critical than that of its advocates and more constructive than that of its critics. It sees a role for sociobiology in changing the way we understand the goals of evolutionary biology, the proper way to evaluate emerging sciences, and the deep structure of scientific theories. The book's premise is that evolutionary biology would not be complete if it did not explain evolutionarily significant social facts about nonhumans and humans. It proposes that explanations should be evaluated in terms of their basis in underlying theories, research programs, and conceptual frameworks.

Philosophy of Biological Science

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Publisher : Prentice Hall
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 166 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (319 download)

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Book Synopsis Philosophy of Biological Science by : David L. Hull

Download or read book Philosophy of Biological Science written by David L. Hull and published by Prentice Hall. This book was released on 1974 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Biocomputing

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Publisher : Academic Press
ISBN 13 : 0080925960
Total Pages : 349 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (89 download)

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Book Synopsis Biocomputing by : Douglas W. Smith

Download or read book Biocomputing written by Douglas W. Smith and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2014-06-28 with total page 349 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The results of today's genome projects promise enormous medical and agricultural benefits and point to a new predictive approach to the conduct of future research in biology. Biocomputing: Informatics and Genome Projects represents a survey of the needs and objectives of genome projects as of the early 1990's. It provides the groundwork necessary to understand genome-related informatics, including computational and database storage objectives. The book covers four general areas: automated laboratory notebooks, nucleic acid sequence analysis, protein structure, and database activities.

Self-organization and Emergence in Life Sciences

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Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 9781402039164
Total Pages : 388 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (391 download)

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Book Synopsis Self-organization and Emergence in Life Sciences by : Bernard Feltz

Download or read book Self-organization and Emergence in Life Sciences written by Bernard Feltz and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2006-01-13 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Self-organization constitutes one of the most important theoretical debates in contemporary life sciences. The present book explores the relevance of the concept of self-organization and its impact on such scientific fields as: immunology, neurosciences, ecology and theories of evolution. Historical aspects of the issue are also broached. Intuitions relative to self-organization can be found in the works of such key western philosophical figures as Aristotle, Leibniz and Kant. Interacting with more recent authors and cybernetics, self-organization represents a notion in keeping with the modern world's discovery of radical complexity. The themes of teleology and emergence are analyzed by philosophers of sciences with regards to the issues of modelization and scientific explanation. The implications of self-organization for life sciences are here approached from an interdisciplinary angle, revealing the notion as already rewarding and full of promise for the future.